A Thug's Wife (Full Length Novel) (30 page)

             
“Marco, let my arm go, you’re hurting me,” Cherie said through gritted teeth. She didn’t want her mama to jump in cause she knew then it would get uglier than it already was.

             
“Tell me who the fuck this nigga is Cherie. You been fucking him all this time, and you lied about being pregnant with my muthafuckin’ seed?”

             
“Let her go! Let her the fuck go!” Tammy rushed Marco. She pushed him so hard that it caused him to stumble. She began throwing blows at him when Marco grabbed both of her arms and forced her off of him. He tossed her back towards her recliner and grabbed Cherie by her hair pulling her outside of the house toward his souped up old school Chevy Camaro.

             
“I’m calling the fuckin’ police!” Tammy screamed. She chased after the two of them trying to get to them, but Marco hurriedly shoved Cherie in the car before he jumped in himself. She turned around and ran back into the house to grab her phone, but it was too late. By time she’d made back outside, Marco was speeding away from the curb.

             
“Where this dude this stay at mane? Don’t lie to me either, Cherie? Your ass done been busted!” Marco yelled as he sped through the streets.

             
“I’m sorry, Marco I got caught up!”

             
“How the fuck you get caught up? You came to me hollering ‘bout you was pregnant with my child when I was ready to leave you the fuck alone! I didn’t ask your dumb ass to come and be with me! You came at me with this bullshit!”

             
“I was only with him ‘cause that’s where my mama wanted me to be. My heart is with you though Marco; I mean that,” she told him and that was the truth.

             
“I’m tired of you using your mama as a damn excuse every time you fuck up! You a grown ass woman! Be a woman and think for your damn self! Man you had me-fuck!” Marco hit his hand against his window so hard that he caused the glass to shatter. He was pissed with Cherie.

She had him in a place where he didn’t want to be,
but he went there ‘cause he felt it was cool. She had his head all fucked up and all along she was playing games with him. He hated when people fucked him over cause it caused him to want to put his murder game down, and he really didn’t want to hurt Cherie; he loved her.

             
“Marco, I’m so sorry. I really am. Please calm down. We can fix this. I will leave Kareem alone. I promise you that. I will leave him alone and never speak to him again.”

             
“Tell me where I can find this bitch ass nigga.”

             
“No, ‘cause I already know what you gonna do to him, and I don’t want it to come to that.”

             
“So you protecting him?”

             
“Marco, no!” Cherie cried. “Please can we just go to your house and talk about this. Baby, I’m sorry. I love you Marco. You know that!”

             
“Don’t try to play me! That shit ain’t gonna work on me now! Man you better tell me where the fuck this nigga stay at like right now!” Marco pulled his pistol from his back and sat it in his lap. He wasn’t playing with Cherie. He wasn’t going to feel better until he killed someone, and if Cherie didn’t want it to be her then she better had hurry up and give Marco the answers he wanted.

             
Cherie spotted the gun sitting in Marco’s lap and began to cry like a baby. What had she gotten herself into? She didn’t think it was this serious. Marco told her time after time not to fuck him over, and she promised him that she wouldn’t. He constantly told her how angry he got when he felt like someone wasn’t being loyal to him and how he would go fed when he found out someone was playing him. Why did she not believe him and stop with the games?

             
Marco reached over and pulled the glove the department open and snatched out a little black box that sat on the inside. He shoved it into the side of Cherie’s face. He’d mushed her so hard he caused her head to hit the window. Cherie looked at the little black box that had fallen into her lap and shook her head. She flipped the box open and spotted the most beautiful diamond she had ever seen in her life. The diamond shined so bright that it almost blinded her.

             
“That’s what you fucked up, Cherie. You wanted that, and I was going to give it you. I thought you was for real about this, but I see you just a bird still playing little ghetto games. You still out here trying to chase these niggas for they cash, when I could have given you anything you ever wanted. All you had to do was be patient and ride for a nigga like I told you when we got back together.”

             
“Marco, please. I promise you; I only fucked with Kareem because that’s what my mama wanted. I’m supposed to be moving in with you today. I barely see him; I promise you that. Marco, please give me another chance.”

             
“Fuck you! Don’t even know why the fuck I’m tripping over your ass. You ain’t even worth it mane! Ya’ feel me?”

             
Cherie reached over for Marco when he backhanded her in the face. She brought her hands up to cover her face when she felt blood pour down her nose onto her lip. She looked at Marco with shock pouring from her eyes. She watched as he made a U-Turn in the middle of the road.

             
“Take your dumb ass back to your mammie since that’s who the fuck run your life, right? Fuck you, fuck Kareem and fuck your mama. Don’t fuckin’ call me no more! Don’t text me. Stay the fuck out my way a’ight. And yea keep that ring as a little reminder of the real nigga that you lost.”

             
Cherie shook her head hoping that she could fix this. She didn’t want it to be over between her and Marco. This was where her heart was at. Kareem really was just a way to keep her mama off her back. She had long lost feelings for him back when she got with Marco. He wasn’t anything to her anymore, yet Marco was her everything.

             
“Marco, please can we fix this? Please Marco!” Cherie begged as Marco turned down the street that led to her mama’s house.

             
“Shut the fuck up talkin’ to me mane!” he roared causing Cherie to jump back.

             
The moment Marco got close to Tammy’s house, he sucked his teeth. There were two police cars sitting outside of the home. He shook his head and looked down at the pistol in his lap. He went to reach for it, when Cherie quickly grabbed it, and tucked it under her shirt.

             
Marco looked over at Cherie and as much as he wanted to reach out and strangle her, he had no choice but respect her for that move. He knew running from the law would have him fucked up worse than he would be if he just pulled over and let them do what they had to do. He placed the car into park, grabbed a cigarette from the console, and fired it up.

             
“I’m a get out and tell them that everything is good,” Cherie told him as she stuffed the gun as far down in her pants as she could. She pulled her shirt down and looked               over at Marco once more before stepping out of the car. She began to approach the officers when they suddenly drew their weapons and proceeded toward Marco’s car.

             
“Wait! Wait a minute!” Cherie yelled. She chased behind them and watched as they jerked the car door open and pulled Marco out. They tossed him to the ground roughly and forced his hands behind his back.

             
“Lock his ass up! Look at my daughter’s face! He tried to kidnap her! Lock his ass up!” Tammy yelled.

             
“Mama no! No! He didn’t kidnap me! I went with him willingly! Officer, please wait!” Cherie begged, but they continued on with the arrest of Marco. They walked him over to their car and tossed him in the backseat. Cherie looked at her mama. “You know what? I fuckin’ hate you! I am so sick of you!”

             
“Oh, girl shut up! Look at your damn face! Told your dumb ass to leave his trifling ass alone a long time ago!”

             
“Mama, I’m leaving and you ain’t gonna never see me again. You have ruined my life! Don’t you see that?” Cherie screamed. Her mama didn’t see it. She didn’t see anything wrong with what she was doing. Cherie was speaking on deaf ears. It didn’t matter what she said to Tammy; she would never see anything past what she saw. It was who she was. Cherie and Zaria needed to get it together. Not her.

Chapter 30: The Blame Game

The sun had just gone down by time Zaria finished shopping. She popped the trunk on her BMW and began to remove the bags from her basket. She couldn’t believe that both Yessenia and Cherie had stood her up. They were supposed to help her register and shop for her upcoming baby shower. She tried to call both of them, but was unable to get through to either of them. It had taken her hours to register and get everything that she had needed. She was completely worn down and exhausted from being her feet for so long. She rubbed her hand across her protruding stomach and then placed both hands on her back as she stretched out.

             
“Oh, my God. I will be so glad when you get here little mama. I’m so damn tired,” Zaria said and continued to fill the trunk with all of the bags. She placed the last bag in the car and went to close the trunk when she felt her phone vibrating her purse. She looked over her shoulder and spotted the car that had been following her everywhere that she’d gone. She frowned and pulled out her cell phone to answer it. She knew they were only doing their job, but she hated having them watching her like she was the First Lady, and they were part of the Secret Service.

             
“Hello,” Zaria answered. She pulled her car door open and stepped inside.

             
“Babbby,” Quasym sang through the phone.

             
Zaria smiled. Quasym had been right when he called her out for being so insecure and allowing her mama and sister to get into her head. When she had let that go and stayed away from her family, things had gotten better between them. She no longer tripped about Tianna and just let things be. Her only focus had been on pleasing Quasym, being the best stepmother she could be, and preparing for the arrival of their unborn child.

             
She fucked up when she started talking back to her sister and allowed Cherie to bring her into the plot that she had against Marco. That was the reason she had to tell Quasym ‘cause she didn’t want to feel like she was going against Sym when things had been so good. She wondered if that was why Cherie didn’t show up today.

             
“Hey boo,” Zaria said into the phone.

             
“Where you at?”

             
“Just now leaving Babies R Us. Neither, Yessenia or Cherie showed up to help me. I’m mad at both of them heifers.”

             
“Shit, Cherie probably fighting with Marco. I told that nigga this morning before I went and met with the boss man what you told me the other day.”

             
“Damn, I kinda figured that’s what it was. Oh well. She shouldn’t have done that, and I can’t believe I helped her. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

             
“We ain’t gonna worry too much about that though. Look, I got something to tell you.”

             
“What’s up?” Zaria hiked the phone between her shoulder and her ear and backed out of the parking spot.

             
“Mane, you ain’t gonna believe what I found out today,” Quasym told her. He was still in shock about finding out that Andres was his brother. He had been driving around all day trying to figure out how he was gonna handle the situation and finally decided that he would give in and go and meet his father for the first time in his life.

             
“What?”

             
“I found out who my father is and not only that, my boss man is my fucking half-brother. Can you believe that shit?”

             
“Oh, my God! Are you serious, Sym?”

             
“Serious as a fucking heart attack.  Shit is so damn crazy, babe. I’ve been driving around all day thinking about that shit. My father wants to meet me. Come to find out he isn’t dead, but he is about to die.”

             
“Huh?”

             
Quasym chuckled, “Long story. But look, he lives in Venezuela with his wife and I’m gonna fly out to go and meet him, and I want you to be with me when I do.”

             
“Okay of course. When are we leaving?”

             
“I got my boss-shit my bro-damn that shit sound crazy. He gonna set the flight up and let me know what’s up. How long before you be home?”

             
“I’m on my way right now. About thirty minutes.”

             
“Check the rear view, them niggas behind you right?”